Guide to the two biggest barbecue competitions in the world

About Memphis' Two Barbecue Contests

There’s no bigger barbecue weekend anywhere in the world than in Memphis this May. The competition is so stiff that Memphis will play host to two contests in one weekend: the legacy World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest on May 15 - 18, 2024, and SmokeSlam on May 16 - 18, 2024.

Part of the month-long Memphis In May International Festival, the 46th annual World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (WCBCC) is often called the “super bowl of swine.” In local lingo, we just call it "barbecue fest." Every year, it brings together thousands of smoke masters, amateur and professional, looking to be crowned kings and queens of barbecue.

Organized into cooking teams (more than 250 teams, in fact, representing dozens of states and foreign countries), these competitors enter into a wide variety of categories, including whole hog, ribs, shoulder, hot wings, beef, poultry, seafood, sauce and "exotic." They can cook with either charcoal or wood, but absolutely no propane, liquid, gas or electricity may be used in preparing the meat: the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is strictly about the subtle science (and art) of smoke. Oh, and $100,000 in prizes, not to mention bragging rights, are at stake. Each year, additional entertainment can be found with musical guests, a Ms. Piggie Idol competition, and sauce wrestling.

SmokeSlam: The World's Ultimate BBQ Showdown, in its inaugural year,  is brought to you by MemphoPresents, the organizers behind Mempho Music Festival and RiverBeat Music Festival. SmokeSlam offers three-days of barbecue competition with concerts each day headlined by St. Paul and The Broken Bones on Saturday followed by fireworks. Additional performances include War, The Bar-Kays and Hope Clayburn's Soul Scrimmage on Friday. Mixtape features Tone Loc, Rob Base, Young MC, DJ M. Walk, and Mustache the Band, followed by Noisy Cats are We on Thursday.

They’re putting up a pretty purse of $250,000--the largest prize money in BBQ history. The Memphis BBQ Network will serve as judges for competition categories of whole hog, ribs, and pulled pork. Additional competition categories include dessert, bacon, duck poultry, beef, seafood, and wings. Winners of those categories will earn a golden ticket to the World Food Championships. The awards ceremony will be hosted by Michelle Buteau, comedian, actress, and host of BBQ Showdown on Netflix.

How to Experience Memphis' Barbecue Contests

The most critical piece of info you need before heading down to the fest is that the World Championship of Barbecue is not a food festival. It's a competitive cooking event so alternately quirky and interesting to watch, it's worth paying general admission to soak up the smoky aroma and the sights: This year's contest takes place at Liberty Park, home to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and the heart of the city in Midtown near the Cooper-Young neighborhood. Liberty Park will transform into a small "city" of tents of all shapes and sizes, decorated to the extreme. Yes, the focus is on the pig, but over the years, the contest has spread informally to include the tent systems, from the intricate to the outlandish, teams construct as their headquarters for the event. (Some will even go so far as to hire professionals to design and build their set-ups.)

For the general public, that means that just walking through the event is an experience. Almost all of the tents include fun-loving (sometimes irreverent) themes. (Think: "Tunisian Nights," a Muppets-inspired "Pigs In Space," the perennial-favorite "Redneck Barbecue Express.")

With all the downtime of watching meat slowly smoke, it’s no surprise that additional entertaining competitions have become fixtures on the schedule, including the Miss Piggy Idol Contest: a variety competition featuring teams wearing elaborate, if not completely ridiculous, costumes belting out reimagined pop songs. Think American Idol but in drag, and at least one team member dressed like Miss Piggy herself.

With the banks of the Mississippi River as its backdrop, SmokeSlam will take over Tom Lee Park in downtown as a celebration of barbecue in Memphis and the city’s musical heritage. Complementing the competition will be a carnival with a ferris wheel, a carousel, and games. After the thrills, hit the central marketplace to shop local businesses with an interactive area for fans to sample food and participate in food-related events.

WHERE TO EAT BBQ AT THE FESTivals

To answer your burning question, if you aren't a competitor or invited by a team, health department regulations prohibit you from sampling barbecue from participating teams. But we got you. When you can't go another minute without sampling the goods, keep these tips in mind: At the WCBCC, a number of official vendors will have food for sale on-site, and add-on experiences including BBQ Alley and the Kingsford Tour of Champions buy you tasting rights. With advanced planning, you can even earn a judge's certification and become a contest judge. SmokeSlam will also offer an interactive area to fuel those ‘cue cravings allowing you to sample food and there will be on-site vendors to buy from. 

Keep in mind that you’re in the barbecue capital of the world. You'll find over 100+ barbecue restaurants, shacks and joints in the Memphis area, some within walking distance of SmokeSlam at Tom Lee Park and plenty in the vicinity of the WCBCC at Liberty Park. In this neighborhood guide to Memphis barbecue, SmokeSlam attendees can find close options in the Downtown section while WCBCC attendees will find options in the Midtown and South Memphis sections. 

For more information on the 2024 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, click here. For more information on the 2024 SmokeSlam: The World's Ultimate BBQ Showdown, click here.